Time’s Up: Tolling Events That Extend the IRS’ Ability to Collect on You
By Kerrin N.T. Liu Will this ever end? This will be a familiar question for those unlucky enough to be collected upon by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). Most taxpayers will be relieved to hear that generally, there is a 10 year statute of limitations on IRS collections. See I.R.C. Section 6502. The 10 years are calculated from the date the tax was assessed. Subject to certain exceptions, once that 10 years is up, the IRS must stop its collections efforts against the taxpayer. However, as with many things in taxation, relief is not as simple as it seems. An unsuspecting taxpayer may unwittingly extend the statute of limitations, allowing the IRS to continue to collect far beyond the 10 years after assessment. Even worse, the IRS has no…